


Build a friend

by LilBatStories



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Might get a little gory and dark, Mike is a grumpy boi, Mike's actually really smart, Multi, Not Beta Read We Die Like Illiterates, References to Drugs, Rehabilitation, Slow Burn, The goal is to develop the characters further, based on the first fnaf game, but is emotionally unwise, but only mentions of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21658840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilBatStories/pseuds/LilBatStories
Summary: Mike Schmidt had been working in the nightmare factory that is the Freddy Fazbear Pizzeria for a while now. Ever since he lost an important job interview he's been trying to run away from his bad luck, but this time the animatronics are going to change his life in ways he never thought possible. Will Mike be able to unravel the many secrets hidden within the Pizzeria's walls?
Comments: 25
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's important for you to understand that this is a rewriting of a RP I did with a friend like 4 years ago, and in order to make it look like an actual story, I had to modify lots of it. So be aware that I will most likely not include new info like who's the purple guy, the other games' animatronics and stuff like that. This was written when the second game was just released and the possession thing is not canon in this story, so I would like to keep our original idea of why do the animatronics seem to be or ARE alive without spirits possessing their carcasses, like a ci-fi POV. So anyways, have fun!

"Mike! Dude you gotta see this!" A voice calls from one end of the room as a new set of steps fills the rather silent space. The owner of said steps takes a glance at the new room he’s never been into before and huffs annoyed.   


"Nathan I swear to everything good in this world that I will end you if you mess something up again--" "Hey! I didn't break a damn thing you doofus, but I found a whole bunch of blueprints in this dusty room!" the cheery day guard said, lifting a few dusty boxes to put them on the working table. 

After a whole night of struggling to stay alive among the horrors, spending a whole extra hour in the frigging establishment was not how he was planning this day to go. Mike Schmidt was legit so done with the absurdity of it all that he simply wanted to lay down, watch some morning cartoons and get some actual sleep. If he wasn't so desperate for money to stop being a nuisance for his sister, he would have dumped the ridiculous minimum wage this position paid him and get the hell out as fast as you could say "pizza", but alas, he was stuck with a bunch of murderous, nocturnal animatronics that just happened to be the mascots of a decaying pizzeria.

Mike didn't really know how some parents had the nerve to still bring their children here and let them near those gigantic and horrific tin can animals while eating slices of what it positively is the most disgusting pizza he's ever known to be made. And yet his sister, Helena Schmidt, was one of those parents. He pitied his niece for being brought here to watch the freak furry show perform their broken lines most of the days.

The Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria establishment was popular when he was a little kid, but nasty rumors about some children’s' disappearances filled the place with fear and abandonment, resulting in a nest of gore and terror that would eventually have to admit defeat and close its doors for good after more than 40 years of stubbornness. Getting a job here just confirmed the horrors all the adults were talking about back then were not simply a rumor. 

He himself had to admit that, like the rest of the --very few-- employees, he felt a great curiosity about this pizzeria's history, wondering if the backrooms or the animatronics themselves would talk about what happened. And that was his big, big career mistake.

Both guards fan off the dust coming from the box with their hands, Mike approaching the table with little to no genuine interest. "So, what am I supposed to be looking at?" "Well," Nathan opened the box and gave him some of the old looking papers "you studied robotics and system engineering, right? Sorry that hadn't worked out for you yet, but-- I thought that-- well, you know..."

"No, I actually don't know, and you're making me worry about what will come out of your mouth next" Mike said with a confused, suspicious expression. It would always be a sore spot for him to be reminded of his failure at the big company he applied for after just finishing college. However, his passion for robots and computers was getting close to non-existent with each passing day because of this awful place.

"No, I mean... Haven't you ever thought you could work as a technician here?"  
"Nathan..." "No, no, listen to me. It makes total sense! I found the key to this room a few days ago when the manager made me clean and do other stuff that were clearly out of my line of work. These blueprints go all the way back when this place was brand new and children would buy any Freddy Fazbear's merchandise they could lay eyes on. Ever since the incidents, those freaky things have been abandoned and poorly maintained. No one had been able to understand how to make them work properly again" Nathan suddenly shoves a big roll of almost faded blueprints on his chest. "Especially Foxy."

Now that was both a low blow and a power move. The night guard stared down at the papers in his hands, remembering a few good memories when he and Helena used to come here and play endlessly with the animal band. Foxy the fox pirate was his favorite at that time, but after a malfunction that ended in tragedy he didn't see him ever again, the reason of this incident along with the fate of the animatronic being buried into the unknown.

Maybe it was because he was a little child and his perception of things were not rational, but he always thought the band looked... Alive. With different personalities and patterns. He would talk to them and engage into a fairly decent conversation, unlike those cartoons that asked questions and would always have a programmed dialog, no matter what your answer was.

Growing up, he thought it was just a guy into a suit that was kind and patient enough to interact with him beyond performance, but working here provided him with the necessary knowledge to learn that besides a Golden Freddy suit in the storage room, there were never wearable suits for a human to use. 

That realization gave him nightmares the whole first week of work. 

"Ever since I have memory of the restaurant, these things proved to be a mystery to me. I mean, they looked so--" "Alive. Real." Mike finished, eyes still glued to the papers. "Yes! Like real friends! I mean, can you imagine the amount of invaluable info that you could find here? Maybe these are what you need to finally get out of this place. Plus, you get to practice with those things out there." Nathan concluded, pointing outside the room with his thumb as hope was evident in every fiber of his body.

"Wow, you want me gone THAT bad?” 

"You know that’s not it, Michael...”

"Nate, I really appreciate what you’re tryna do, but there's no way on earth I would get close to those things, even if you paid me three times my salary to do it." The other man couldn't understand what he's been through with these robots, the constant dread filling his guts every time he heard a click or a jolly tune down the hallway. The graveyard shift position made you realize how trapped someone could feel.

"I know, you told me what has been happening all these nights, and being completely honest I would've expected something like this to happen given that... Well, they were strange since the very beginning. But please Mike, you'll be working with them during the day, meaning no more free roaming mode, no more night shifts, a better pay, and a brand new opportunity to redeem yourself and find a better job. You'll finally help Helena with Kathy and be a financial support instead of a load." Nathan insisted almost desperately. Mike had developed a soft spot for the guy in the time they've been working at the establishment, to the point he'd already invited him to have supper with the Schmidt family more than once. The night guard had no other close friends that knew what was really going on in his life, not even his own sister.

"I... I don't know, Nathan..." 

The day guard merely sighed and pushed the box closer to him. "Not even the boss knows I found these. Just take 'em before he gets here and, I dunno, see if you can take the shot, yeah?" 

If his dumbass coworker broke into a most likely off-limits room just to give him an opportunity to try and get something better, the least he could do was check these a little more, right? He sighed and nodded, taking the heavy box with him to his car.

"Gotta go, Kathy must be almost ready to go to school. She's been wondering when are you going to come back and tell her more of your reckless childhood adventures."

"Ha ha I like the little kid! Tell her I said hi."

"Sure thing. Ah man, I forgot my flashlight on one of the tables" Mike said as he headed back with Nathan following him back inside, only to realize it wasn't where he left it anymore. "The hell?"

"Don't look at me," the equally confused day guard said, "I didn't even know you had a flashlight.” 

"It's a little trick I learned while taking care of a crappy building with not enough budget to even maintain its power source and keep it running all night long" Mike explained as he crouched to look under the table.

"You're quite resourceful for an underpaid guard. Seriously, you should leave the position to people who can't do better with their lives." And oh, how much it hurt Mike to hear someone as bright as Nathan say things like that. He looked briefly at his coworker crouching near the stage area and thought how it really wasn't fair to hear those words come out of his mouth. Taking a wrong turn in life didn't define who you were in the slightest, especially if you’re trying every day to redeem yourself, stay clean and search for a legit job like Nathan is doing. But that doesn't matter to big companies with better salaries and a ‘reputation’ to live up to. 

"Yeah, that's why you should definitely quit this job." Mike said decisively. Nathan stopped on his tracks to glance at him before laughing loud and infectious, making both of them fall into a fit of wheezes and giggles. 

It felt good to do silly stuff like this from time to time. 

"Michael Schmidt, you sure know how to swipe a person off their feet. Didn't know you had it in ya!" "Get over it you dumbass, and help me find my--" then he saw it. His flashlight was at one of the animatronic's very own feet.

Bonnie.

Nathan was about to ask what was wrong before following his horrified stare to the place where his flashlight was resting innocently. None of them dared to move for a few seconds. Then Mike suddenly picked up a chair and raised it over his shoulder. The other man picked the closest thing he had and both guards slowly approached the gigantic metal bunny on the stage.

Mike signaled to the other animatronics, giving Nathan a heads up to watch out for the others as he slowly, oh so agonizingly slow, stretched his arm to pick up his flashlight. But then again, he made a huge mistake as he lifted his head up to look at the robot and noticed that it was LOOKING. AT. HIM. 

In that same moment his hand fell on the flashlight, provoking Mike to freak out at the unexpectedly sudden contact only to fall backwards, stumbling on the other guard while both screamed in absolute fear. They crawled frantically a few meters away from the stage before falling on their butts breathing heavily.

They looked like a perfect mess: two grown ass men sitting on the floor in the middle of an empty restaurant, afraid of a big mascot and screaming like little kids at 7 in the morning. Helena wouldn't let them forget it if she was here. "I swear I didn't leave it there."

"Well, maybe you just forgot--" "You know damn well I wouldn't get near those things, Nate! Not even unconsciously!" Mike snapped.   
"Right, right. Sorry, heh, it's just-- I-I don't want to believe that they can move freely in the morning as well, ya know."

Mike turned to look at the other guard and realized he hasn't taken his eyes away from the purple monstrosity. He felt a pang of guilt, because this was the closest his coworker has been to experience what he had to deal with every night. Mike tried to break the trance of the moment until he noticed something in Nathan's right hand.

"...A plastic spork? Seriously?" Mike smirked.

"Hey! It was all I found! Besides, when used correctly even paper can be a lethal weapon." the guard retorted.   


"Against a giant metallic rabbit?" Mike straight up laughed at his silly coworker and got up to his feet again, offering a hand to Nathan who gladly took it.  


"OK, enough action for one day. Now I'm really late to take my girls to school and work. So, see ya tomorrow.  


" Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and leave me alone with these creeps, don't sweat it. Just know that if I end up dead it'll be in your conscience."  


"Oh please, quit it you big baby. I'm still alive, aren't I? You have better chances of surviving than I normally do." Mike rolled his eyes as he took his jacket and hat off, heading towards the entrance.

"Wait! What about my goodbye kiss?!" Nathan whined. Of course, every damn time. Dammit all to hell. He was a cool dude to hang around with, ok? But the day guard always managed to tinker with his nerves in a way not even the animatronics could. So he acted with vengeful force and grabbed him by his tie, crashing their mouths together into a big, fat smooch.

"Ew man! What the hell? You're not even my type!" the other man complained, gagging and cleaning his lips on his uniform sleeve.  


"Leave me alone, Nathan. Or one of these days the animatronics will be the least of your concerns." Mike called, looking at his coworker over his shoulder as he walked out. Nathan smiled and chuckled as he saw the grumpy oddball drive off before going back in to check everything was in place.

"I really hope he takes my advise, tho." he sighed, aligning the chairs back in place. Suddenly a clicking sound followed by a faint echo of metal groaning under the pressure of movement reached his ears and made him immediately turn around and face the stage once again. 

Nothing was out of place; the animatronics were all in their positions and as still as a rock, not even minding the deplorable state they were in. Nathan narrowed his eyes and glared at who he believed was the responsible for the noise.   


"Were you trying to get our attention back there?" He glared at Bonnie. The robot didn't do a thing, not a blink nor a sound.  


"Fine, be that way, but you're not fooling anyone here. To be honest I don't think you even have a real restriction to move around during the day, and you're just pretending!" The day guard accused, pointing a finger at the huge purple rabbit.

After a tense second he sighed and walked back to the office. “What am I even saying? Mike said they only move in the night. Tho, I wonder if he's actually on something..." Nathan looked back at the gang and shivered, beginning to walk again. "Nope, that's not it. Creepy douchebags."

If he had stayed just one more second, he would have seen the curtains of the Pirate Cove rustling slightly before a yellow eye peeked through the little gap.

\---------------------------------------------

Mike had to pinch himself twice on his ride home because of his heavy exhaustion.

The quiet streets were starting to get busy with cars, people heading to their jobs or parents taking their kids to school. The morning sunlight felt good on his skin and it filled his soul with relief, confirming he survived yet another night in hell. He hummed along whatever was on the radio, admiring the lovely view of gray buildings and clear skies ahead. 

About 10 minutes later he arrived to his destination: a pretty little house in a pretty little suburb with a pretty little garden filled with carnations and and daisies, his sister's favorites.

He hopped off the car and opened the door, humming to himself when a delicious smell of maple syrup and home teased his nostrils.

"Uncle Mike! Good morning uncle Mike, I missed you!" the cheery voice grew louder and louder until he spotted his niece running to meet him. With open arms, he hugged her and soon enough both were spinning in the living room like in a silly ball dance.  


"Mornin' Kathy. But how could you ever miss me? I was gone when you were asleep!" Mike asked, to which the girl responded: "Doesn't matter, you were gone when I woke up" the girl pouted. 

Mike felt both loved and guilty. Normally he was asleep when the girl came back from school and they barely saw each other throughout the day, but the pure excitement on the girl's face every time she saw her loser of an uncle was enough to make Mike cut his sleep short and try to hang out with her more often.  


"Mornin' captain! I see you got just in time to inhale your breakfast in five seconds before taking my girl to school." Said a voice from the kitchen, and even if he couldn't see her, he could hear Helena's signature cocked eyebrow in her tone.

He made a 'I'm screwed' face to Kathy and hissed, making the girl laugh before dashing back to her room. He stretched his arms over his head and walked towards the kitchen where his little sister was finishing his breakfast. Pancakes and bacon drizzled with maple syrup. His favorite.

Here we go again.

"Mornin' Leena. I'm sorry, Nathan was up to his nonsense again." he said as he sat down on the table. Suddenly a plate appeared in front of him.  
"You don't say. He's quite fun to have around, tho." She sat down in front of him, no opportunity to avoid her gaze. Dammit. 

"Mike, I... I know you needed to get a job as soon as possible, to help with the bills and what not, but--" "Helena, we talked about this and I already told you--" "That job sucks, Michael."

Wow, they really were siblings, huh? Mike groaned at the comment, to which Helena immediately tried to explain herself. 

"I can see it in your face everyday when you come back. It's draining your life away--" "So what, Leena? You think I don't know what a miserable job I got myself into? You think I'm happy with the life I have right now?"  
__

_Shut up, Mike. Stop. Why don't you better shove your stupid comments where the sun don't shine and stop bringing them to the surface._ “I am trying, Helena, I swear--"

  
"Why is it that you never let me finish my sentences, you dumbass. I wasn't talking about that, but clearly you seem to torment yourself enough anyway, so my input is not needed." Helena snapped. "I was going to say that, maybe, the best option for you right now, is to quit--" "what?" "and focus on your interview presentation at some other company that need your expertise--" "what?!" "Oh c'mon, it's the best course of action and you know it."

Yes he did, but his pride was too big to hold it in.

"Let me get this straight: you want me to stop bringing an income so I get more time to prepare for an interview presentation that every company has rejected again and again? Are you nuts?"  
"You just need to make a new one! I know you can, but with this schedule you're working--" "I spent five damn years building that project!" "Well I can't fix everything, Mike! I'm giving you ideas, but if you insist on being stuck in the same failed project then--" "Excuse me, exactly WHO asked for your opinion?" 

_For the love of everything that's good in this world, STOP TALKING Schmidt, stop it._  


"Just because I'm living in your house doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do with my life!"

The look on his sister's eyes was going to haunt his brain forever. She fell completely silent as her pursed lips trembled with the amount of emotions running through the room. She silently nodded and stood up, picking up her keys, purse, and sunglasses, putting them on almost immediately. Oh God please, everything but the sunglasses. She walked towards Kathy's bedroom to say goodbye. Confused, the girl asked "but mommy, isn't uncle Mike taking you to work today?" "We both need to clear our heads, sweetie. Remember to take your homework and give it to your teacher."   


"Yes, ma'am."   


"Love you honey, see you in the afternoon." and just like that Helena was out, walking a few blocks down to take a bus. 

Mike stared at his breakfast in silence, angrier than before, feeling miserable and in need to blow off some steam. He took the keys and left his breakfast untouched." You ready to go, Kathy?" she nodded shyly and rushed to her room to get her homework before silently hopping inside the back of the car. 

It was getting worse, he noticed. These outbursts of anger were becoming uncontrollable to the point he was hurting the only family he had left. He looked at the road ahead and got lost in his thoughts, concentrating on breathing deep and slow. Little did he know that his niece was a perceptive little person, and was soon doodling something in her notebook.

When they arrived to Kathy's school, he opened the door for her and took her inside as always.

"Uncle Mike?"  


"Yes, Kathy-loo?"  


She extended her little arm towards him with a piece of paper on her hand. When he took a look at it, he saw Foxy roughly drawn with a funny pirate outfit. Definitely more presentable than the real thing.  


"Mommy says that when you were sad, Foxy always made you feel better. I hope this helps." Mike could just stare at the thoughtful gift, and how much his sister used to know him, even talked about him to her daughter.   


"It's perfect, Katherine. Thank you so much." He smiled as sincere as he could at the moment. "have a nice day, my Sunflower." The surprised smile at her favorite nickname was by far the best medicine against anger.

After leaving Kathy at school he returned to change his clothes and rode off to a park, thinking a good amount of exercise would help his nerves to cool off. Putting his headphones on he got lost once again in the horizon as the music guided his steps forward.

_Foxy used to make him happy indeed. All those afternoons inside the restaurant were the highlight of his days, playing around with the animatronics until the Pirate Cove's show started. He would sing and dance with them and the other children around the place without a care in the world. Maybe he even got to play with Nathan without knowing. Those days were easier and happier, free of disappointments and responsibilities._  
__

_One day though, a couple of bullies got a grip of him and gave him a black eye, leaving a 5 year old Mike crying and trembling with fear by the storage room, close to the Pirate Cove._

_“Ahoy, lil matey! Care to tell this ol' fox what happened to that pretty face o' yers?" and there he was, his idol bent on one knee to see him at the same eye level when they spoke. It felt so reassuring at the moment, such an organic gesture coming from a metallic mascot._  
__

_"T-they hit- hit me in the face" Mike sobbed, pointing with a trembling finger to the bullies playing with Chica and Freddy._  
__

_"Well that ain't nice, now is it? Why did they hit ye, lad?"_  
__

_"S-say I'm weird, because I like to b-build things instead of playing soccer, and my teeth are u-ugly too" Mike answered, embarrassed of his separate teeth as he covered his mouth to hide them._  
__

_Foxy stared at the main room thinking (thinking?) for a moment before saying with determination "that ain't true, Mikey. Yer not weird ta me."_  
__

_"H-how do you know my name?" he asked, being effectively distracted from crying even more, just like how he does with Kathy now._  
__

_"That's because yer me first matey! First to arrive, last to leave. Yer parents seem to have a bituva trouble getting yer attention when we're playing." Foxy paid attention, heard his name, and learned it._  
__

_"A-am I?"_  
__

_"Aye aye, lad! Yer a bright kid, always up to new adventures," the fox said, ruffling his hair carefully with his good hand. "and that's why ye shouldn't let anyone take away that sparkle o'yers."_  
__

_Mike looked up at the fox's face and smiled relieved. He still had a friend._  
__

_A friend?_

**_Like r_ _eal friends._ **

Mike stopped on his tracks, sweating and panting heavily as something immediately clicked on his mind after remembering that specific day.   
Normal animatronics simply couldn't learn things, unless they were being programmed into their CPUs. 

So how the hell did Foxy learn his name?

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long, but this chapter proved to be really hard to write for me. No worries, tho! Next chapter is already in the making ;)

"Holy sh-!"

After almost tripping on his own feet, Mike decided it would be better to step out of the running track before he accidentally killed another jogger. The music kept going through his headphones and resonated in his skull, but all he could hear was his own heart beating painfully inside his chest like if it wanted to break out of the ribcage.

"You've got to be kidding me." The night guard huffed among painful gasps. His name. He was just one more among the millions of kids running and screaming around the restaurant everyday, but Foxy 'casually happened' to know HIS name. He was not a remarkable kid nor the owner's son or whatever, which made this little detail even creepier the more he thought about it. 

“But— that’s impossible, he needs…” Foxy needed to be conscious of his environment and be capable of ‘remembering’ data at will to learn such a mundane thing like some random kid’s name. Mike stared blankly at the nothingness in absolute shock. AI in the present 21th century is not advanced enough to allow a robot to contain the innumerable quantity of data necessary to learn how to respond and decide exactly like human brains do, less likely in the 80s, and even less likely some family restaurant's animatronics which obviously weren't designed to do that... right? Whatever the answer was didn’t seem to matter that much because it still happened against all odds, and the more he tried to find a logical explanation for what he experienced that day, the more his head hurt in protest. What in fresh hell was going on in there? 

As he tried to make it back to the car, the anger and frustration inside him grew more and more, making his steps grow bigger and faster. Of course he knew there was something shady about them, being the night guard that has to endure the hassle of their night mode every shift and all. Seriously though, how did he manage to ignore the most obvious signals to understand there was more to those scraps of metal, to the point it was NATHANIEL of all people who had to shove it into his face to make him connect the dots? And then his sister had to go right ahead with her attempt of a motivational speech at dawn of day right after his shift because OF COURSE she had to remind him how he wouldn't be enduring the quirky animatronics at unholy work hours if he had done better in his interview, thought about a better presentation, hadn't been so nervous to speak. Now he was thinking of theories that pretty much crossed the line of absurdity about robotic programming while he was on the brink of passing out. 

The sum of everything crashed inside his mind like a jenga tower, provoking one of the biggest migraines he's ever experienced. Unfortunately, he just made it to a nearby tree before suddenly stopping his aggressive pace to dry-heave behind some bushes as people passed by, looking at Mike with a slight concern for his condition but avoiding his way nonetheless. It was always a horrible experience to go through when your brain would feel like smashing itself inside your skull, and even more so if it happened with a certain frequency that couldn’t be healthy at all. But nothing could be done about those migraines unless the man found a non self-harming way to take all his accumulated anger out that also didn’t affect other people first, which was proving to be a real challenge if Mike was being completely honest with himself. 

Exercise didn’t help. Music tended to open a black hole inside his brain that took him to the place where his dark thoughts resided. He sucked at handcrafts and got frustrated every time he tried so that wasn’t even a option. Realizing he was not finding something to calm himself down with only managed to irritate him even more, although if he looked at the somewhat bright side of the situation it was good that he hadn’t turned into an addict instead so yay for him. But Mike knew it still wasn’t an excuse, at least not for him. He knew it wasn't Helena's fault that he didn't get his dreamed job, that it wasn't Nathaniel's fault if he sulked on every shift because he couldn't move onto something better, that it wasn't little Kathy's fault if he felt miserable. Really, it wasn't anybody's fault that his life took a wrong turn but his own. He and his stupid issues, he and his stupid ego, he and those stupid animatronics that existed against all forces of logic in this world.

Lots of people made solving your problems look so easy to accomplish just by wearing an extra layer of positivism, a permanent smile to pretend everything was OK and wait for something to miraculously change or make everything better, which for Mike was annoying to the extreme and a total crap of an analogy. He wanted actual solutions: either some damn secret recipe to make a 180° change in your life and pretend the rest never happened or end it all very quickly without much of a fuss. 

The night guard sat on a bench groaning in defeat, finally admitting that he wouldn't make any sense of what was going on with those robots nor make the proper amends for what he’s said to his sister if he didn't return home, eat something and catch some damn sleep. He wasn't 25 years old anymore and it was discouraging to experience in one’s own flesh how badly age and a short fuse can damage a man.

Bur just when he thought he would pass out on the hard seat with a pounding head about to explode, a bottle of grape flavored sports drink suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of his face, mercifully cold looking and waiting to be opened. 

"Looks like you're about to die over there. Drink it up." 

"Thank you." Mike said as he took the offered beverage. The first gulp felt like water that came down from heaven until it got past his throat, when he suddenly felt the cold liquid hit the bottom like a chunk of ice. "D-dammit."

"Don't drink it all at once Mikester, or you'll throw up my five bucks out of your stomach."

Now, hearing the ridiculous nickname was enough to know who was talking to him, but it kept on being a surprise for Mike after finally lifting up his gaze to lock eyes with non other than his girl buddy from college, a fellow robotics mayor. 

"Lila? What are you doing— I mean it's great to see you but shouldn't— wouldn't you— you know—" 

"Sheesh Michael. After years of not coming to any of the gatherings and disappearing on us from the face of earth, YOU are the one asking what am I doing here?" 

Oh shoot, that. Being honest, Mike was not willing to endure his enthusiastic friends and their intrusive questions. 'How did the interview go? Did you get the job in the end? Oh, and why not?' At that time, the seemingly best option was to run and hide from their curiosity like a vile cockroach. It was interesting how karma worked though, because it had very creative ways to make you pay for being a douche to the people you said were the closest to you, like forcing you to work in a crappy Pizzeria for less than the minimum wage as you slowly descend deeper into the insanity that makes you ask yourself why did you ever feel interest in robots, all while you’re forced to watch over your very own metallic executioners. He messed up and now felt like he was sitting on the accused’s chair during a trial. 

"I know I know, I never called again after graduation, my bad, but I just... Couldn't, there was a lot going on for me." He simply said to her. And it was the truth, at least in a very hidden, shortened version. 

"I thought you would've at least moved out of the city to find your true self or something." The woman shrugged lightly, smiling at him with the same laid-back vibes that always made Mike feel both irritated and relaxed whenever she was near. "It's ok though, now we all have our rolls in society doing adult stuff and what not. But, for the better or for the worse, I'm glad to see you haven't changed at all, man."

'For the worse without doubt.' Mike complained inside his mind. The second they both didn’t have anything else to say however, an impossibly awkward silence graced them with its presence like a suffocating smell you couldn’t run away from, so the guard tried to ease the tension by standing up and fixing his hair like a 50s greaser would, posturing as a very self confident guy before speaking again. 

"Well I could say the same thing ‘bout ya, doll. Time has sure been generous." He suddenly replied, doing his best to put on his most charming smile. Or, well. As charming as a sick man that just puked could get. Maybe that's why the woman seized him up and down with one look before 'tsking' at his seemingly poor attempt. Ouch. 

"Uh-huh. And talking about things not changing, did you take your breakfast like any other normal human being would or did you just skip your meal on purpose before exercising?"

"Uh..." 

"Yeah I thought so. C'mon, let's go to the Dinner around the corner. My treat." 

At any other moment, Mike would have insisted to treat her instead for old time's sake. But now all he could do was to accept the invitation with his tail between his legs because he couldn't even afford a decent meal for two (so it’s not hard to imagine how his love life was currently doing), and it definitely wouldn't look good to be a jerk and reject a hang out yet again. But now that they were picking a dark corner to sit on and help his migraine to cease a little bit, he realized Lila seemed to be... comfortable with him, considering that Mike practically ghosted her during 10 years. She sat on one side as she made casual conversation about life, memories they both shared as well as common affinities like music bands and theater. 

Chatting in such a casual way with her really felt like traveling to the past to their college days; doing projects with other five kids and spending hours upon hours either doing research or playing video games, hanging out in a low budget Fast Food place while eating chips and drinking gallons of coffee to make it alive through the final period, and all the things that students that age would probably do. Paying closer attention to his old friend made Mike notice she looked kind of down to earth now, maybe more mature because of her experiences in life, and had her hair dyed in a dark emerald green which turned out to be a surprisingly good color on her. He used to wonder from time to time what became of his old pals after they all took different directions, and felt glad to still see that trademark look filled with fire in Lila’s eyes, ready to defend her ideals while shinning with passion and mischief, just like before. Looking at her in general made him feel a little further from all the nonsense that was his life at the moment, going back to the good times when he was full of hopes and dreams for the future, back when he used to de happy. 

"I will say, it's quite the surprise to see you hanging around the suburbs. I always envisioned you as a downtown girl who enjoys the weekend plays and the accelerated pace of the city." Mike pointed out as he stuffed his mouth with some more pancakes full of maple syrup and bacon. Lila shrugged and smacked his hands away from the plate so she could steal his biscuit, sliding her finger over his pancakes to gather some syrup and lick it right off her finger. Mike took the plate away as if she just violated his food, a 'Why are you this way' was written all over his horrified face while she chased after the food with a notorious 'HEY!' on her own features. After a few more tries she gave up, focusing on her Frappuccino again before following the conversation like if nothing happened. Yup, still the same keychain-sized gremlin he likes so much. 

"I was walking around the neighborhood to find a nicer place to live in before I saw you. Although it had a nice view and a very convenient location, my old apartment is proving to be more of a burden than a home where I can go rest. What about you, then?" She asked, sipping from his orange juice before he could take the glass away from her. Seriously, the nerve of this woman. 

"You could say I'm in a similar situation. My sister's place is bigger and cheaper but it's just a... provisional solution till I get my own place," he confessed dismissively. However, he really wanted to know what would Lila think of him now that he confessed he couldn't find a better place to live in. He felt bad for thinking that way about Helena's home but shame proved to be more powerful than his gratitude this round. "At least my niece likes to have me around."

Lila hummed in understanding and stared at her drink for a moment like if it was telling her what to say next, then she shrugged and grabbed another piece of his pancakes.  
“I mean, it's obvious you are limited by a few things you can't do like throwing wild parties or bringing a date home for the night," yeah well, Mike didn't exactly have a problem with neither of those situations since you have to go out and meet people in the first place, "and you also have to guard your things and keep your room locked so your niece doesn’t find your magazines hidden inside your socks’ drawer.” Was he THAT predictable? “But you also have all the benefits that comes with staying at home with a loving family, like movie nights in the living room, board games on the floor and home cooked meals that I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t even try to make on your own, so that's a very good provisional solution to me. Also, you’re not alone all the time. So how is your sister doing these days, by the way?" 

Her thoughtful answer and sincere interest warmed Mike's insides to the point he finally managed to smile despite the ugly mood he was in from before.   
"She's doing great. Her job is a little oppressive but pays good enough to support Kathy and herself just fine. You know, just them against the world. I’m lucky I got a free VIP Club Member Pass to join them as well." 

Lila giggled, probably thinking about the whole explanation in a literal way inside her brain.   
"A lot of jobs suck and are downright slavery, but knowing your sister I may dare to say she's actually glad that uncle Mikey is near by to save the day and help with little Kathy. My mom always said it’s not easy being a full time parent with a full time job at the same time. Helena is kind of like a Wonder Woman right now."

“She really is, isn’t she?” Mike hadn’t considered what being a single parent was like. He stared at his (hopefully still willing to be) friend as she spoke and realized she's not the unrealistic type nor is she telling him to be more positive or hopeful. She simply rolls with whatever situation is at hand and twists it to look at the side that benefits you the most, to find that advantage you could use. It was a really simple yet very effective survival trick Mike was planning to apply into his own life affairs, hoping that things would get better from then on that way. If only he had stayed near her or the other guys during all these years, maybe he would’ve learned how to keep going forward and things would’ve been a bit more bearable today. 

He wouldn’t be so lonely. 

"I… listen, I'm so sorry about all this time, Lila. Wish I hadn't disappeared the way I did." Mike admitted with a sigh. It wasn’t like he believed it would really change anything at this point, but he had to start somewhere. 

And yet, Lila graced him with one of her easy-going smiles before waving a hand dismissively.   
"Don't torture yourself over the past that you can’t change, Mike. Seriously, we’re cool. Also, we could still do things together now that we bonded again or whatever, you know? I've been missing your ugly mug anyways. Maybe I could download some movies, order some pizza—" 

"Ugh, don't you dare mention anymore pizzas, both my stomach and my sanity suffer because of those rancid pies from hell." Mike dry heaved just remembering the foul smell around the entire pizzeria, including the animatronics. Chica especially was a nightmare both to look and smell at because of her strong, rancid cheese smell and always-opened beak that seemed to indicate she wasn't satisfied with the kitchen menu anymore, and was looking for something else to eat up. 

"Ok... How about going to the theaters then?" Lila tried again. 

"That's... A little too expensive for me." 

"Are you unemployed or something, Schmidt?" she pointed out with concern written on her face. 

_'It's worst than that.'_ "Or something." he decided to answer instead. "What about you? Shouldn't you be at work right now?" 

Lila groaned and threw herself against the back of the booth with her arms crossed, kind of like a tantrum someone of Kathy's age would throw at you.   
"Well not now because they fired me 3 days ago. Said I didn't have ‘the correct working attitude’, that I had a tendency to 'test' my superiors' patience and was starting to be a bad influence to the rest of my coworkers. Can you believe it?" 

"Yes I can."

"Shut up. All I did was to speak up for all the work abuses our manager was making us go through! No break times, extra hours almost every day, damn paperwork that wasn't even in our job description, and no one had the freaking nerves to tell that son of a gun to eat dirt, so they fired ME for doing the right thing! But you know what, I'm done with all that crap. I'll start from scratch at some Café and see what I want to do later." she concluded with yet another dismissive shrug. Once again, the guard truly appreciated her capacity to roll with things that were thrown her way and move on. At least it served to show Mike not only him has it rough. 

"Ha, seems like life has its favorites, huh? At least you're taking it better than I do." Mike commented. 

The woman put her elbows on the table and sat straight again to look at him, analyzing the message written all over his body language before speaking. "Yeah, life isn't fair and we all experience that truth in different degrees. So how about you? What happened that made you feel so resentful towards your own existence?" 

There it was, the one million dollar question. Seriously, it felt like it landed on his ears like a kick to the nuts with the precision of an angered horse.  
"Do you remember Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?" 

"The place with the creepy animatronics supposedly possessed by the spirits of the children that were stuffed into the suits? Sure, I tried to steal one of them once but it was too heavy to carry on my backpack." 

This whole conversation was already taking a very ridiculous turn. 

"Why on earth would you— how even— you know what, I don't wanna know. Why is it that you say they are possessed anyways?" 

"I dunno, that’s what people believed. Personally, I think they were always weird in a way I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I mean sure the suits were overly dumb-looking and unsettling, but it probably was the way they used to... Interact? Move? Exist? Like, how did a couple of metal and wires pumped by air compressors could make you feel that? I guess no one didn't really question it until the incident happened to be honest, and that _Je né c'est quoi_ suddenly popped out even more.” She reasoned, drinking some more coffee before looking outside the window. “But then again, it probably was just the kid version of me being confused by the ominous ambiance combined with their gigantic size and the fact that they each kept children forcefully stuffed inside their suits while they performed… during a whole week... Probably longer if the police cared enough to share details.” She answered with some realization. 

Yeah. Being honest the idea of the animatronics getting possessed by their spirits did reach his mind a couple of times at the beginning, when he was still interested in making any sense of the situation. But he completely blocked that thought from his head later on because how sick would that be if it was actually true? Poor children that weren’t even 13 years old, murdered in their favorite place at the hands of a heartless bastard that probably did the most sickening things to them AND got them stuffed inside their favorite mascots. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how it would be to suddenly wake up one night after, angry and scared, just to be forced to haunt the robots for eternity in a fruitless search for vengeance. So no, Michael Schmidt was not a fan of that sadistic idea. He preferred to think the animatronics could be a bunch of douchebags that enjoyed seeing him pee his pants. But all in all, for whatever reason, one thing was clear: those things were abnormal from the very beginning. Maybe the reason is into their programming code hidden at plain sight, waiting for Mike to find it and expose the original nature— if not the original purpose— of the Freddy's animatronics. 

"Anyway why are you asking? I'm pretty sure the restaurant closed down decades ago." The woman inquired. 

"The restaurant it's still on business, I'm afraid." Mike sighed, giving himself a moment to look up to the ceiling and think what would he say next. 

"What? How you know?" 

Mike breathed. "They pay me a crappy amount of money every end of the week to watch over the restaurant at night. I’m the current security guard of the infamous Freddy Fazbear’s.”

"Oh wow! So... a night guard, huh? Must be nerve-wracking to watch those animatronics all night long, slowly decaying before your very own eyes." 

"That's putting it lightly. Those things are indeed decaying little by little, but they're still active and have a free roaming mode at night because they're not allowed to move from their spot during the day ever since the incident of the 87."

"What?! That's irresponsible at every level, Mike. Those things need a very good maintenance to keep it together after all these years, or else the malfunctions would increase to the point they could snap an arm out. And if the business is that bad, then the people they're hiring to perform the job are absolute unqualified airheads. It's extremely dangerous for the customers to let them perform in that condition!" Lila rambled like she would during their assignments whenever a fellow teammate was about to do something she frequently referred to as 'the most stupid atrocity of the entire history'. 

"Don’t you think I know that already? Too bad I’m the only one that can see the uncommon behavior of these stupid mascots. I swear I'm just too tired of all this nonsense to think of them as one of our final semester’s projects, you know?" Mike rubbed his hand all over his face to try and stay in the present time, sitting on this booth with Lila and not there in his office with Freddy outside the door. ”I don’t have the mental strength to do this anymore.” He confessed. 

"Well, then let’s break this down together. What would you normally qualify as 'an uncommon behavior' with these models? Glitches, lack of response, or an overstimulation perhaps?"

Oh no. She was asking some very dangerous questions that Mike shouldn’t reply to for her own sake. Then again… Lila had a good head on her shoulders. Maybe she could help him out on this one. As a fellow graduate in his same major, she had an objective point of view and would be able to analyze the robots for what they were, codes and all. She didn’t work at the place with him so it should be good, right? 

"Oh I wish it was something as simple as that. The previous guard said they may identify humans as an endoskeleton while in night mode. So because it's against the damn rules to have the endos roaming free outside 'business hours' they... They're programmed to put them back into the empty suits.”

“Yikes.” The woman cringed, understanding what it actually meant for a human to go through that. 

“Exactly. The guy that recorded the phone messages left it there, assuming that was the main cause of the hassle." Mike said. Lila nodded and waited for him to continue, listening intently. The man felt confident enough to follow on his explanation and took a deep breath yet again. 

"... But it's definitely not as simple as that.”

“And why is that?” 

“Whenever I check on the restaurant security cameras, they stare directly at them the second I turn them on, like if they knew it was me watching through the device. When they stop at my window we lock eyes like in a stare contest and I can tell they're actually looking at ME, the guard, and not an endo they have to put back into place. They follow my gaze and my steps every single time I pass by the stage during the day, not anyone else’s. They hide, run towards the office to pound on the door and stalk like if I was not a prey but an enemy of some sort. You can almost sense the threat they mean to you if you ever let them near."

"So you mean that those things are... Aware? And hate you?" 

"Well yeah. Kinda. I mean robots cannot feel neither love nor hate of course, but they are certainly aggressive towards the position I perform as a night guard for some reason." Mike said. 

“Okay… Why only the night guard position, tho?” his friend inquired. 

“That was exactly what I was asking myself the first week. I even reached out to my manager to ask about the previous night guard that recorded those messages, since he didn’t pick up my calls.” Mike still remembers that day. His manager was playing dumb about the other guard and said he took another job opportunity after the end of his week, _‘That’s the reason why you’re here.’_ The guy said. But Mike did notice the whole place smelled like bleach during his first three days working in the restaurant, irritating his nose to the point it bled a couple of times during his shift. 

When he finally complained about the situation with the janitor, the decrepit old man just laughed before answering _'_ _All the guards are disposable, did ye know that? They come and go all the time, but I’ve been here 30 years. For what other reason would they pay me more than ye, then? Keep it shut, and they will keep on paying.’_ The guard didn’t understand what he meant and discarded it as a senile man’s rambling… until Friday night, that is. The last recording the previous guard left for him was traumatizing at best. Something bad happened to the man that night. There was thrashing with loud screams filling the little office and some weird static took most of the message; a deep, distorted voice was saying something he couldn’t make out while he heard how the guard’s voice turned into a distant eco. Mike didn’t want to make any assumptions about what happened that time, but if he pieced the recordings, the manager, the janitor and the diabolical animatronics all together… 

“Those robots… stated quite clearly that they don’t like guards in general during that man’s last workday.”

"Holy hell." Lila spoke under her breath, rubbing her eyes with her fingers to come out of her evident stupor. It was indeed a lot to take in if you wanted to side with Mike instead of believing he was on drugs. “Those are definitely not the software problems I was expecting to hear.”

"I know that what I’m telling you sounds paranoid and even crazy, but think about it. When you experience what I've gone through, you’d also believe there's something either horribly wrong or brilliantly planned with those animatronics."

"What are you implying?" Lila asked, already lifting one eyebrow as she waited for the response. Oh yeah, she was already thinking the same thing. 

Mike adjusted his position and moved closer to her, hushing his voice so nobody could accidentally eavesdrop on them.   
"Lila... There’s no denying that these models are weird. So if we look at it from an analytical point of view, could it be that they were actually created to be that way? What if these robots are capable of understanding us, creating intelligent movements and responses out of their own self-taught data collected by their surroundings in just a matter of seconds?"

"Michael, were talking about an 80s rusty model with the most intricate and valuable AI that doesn't even exist yet. That's not possible. Hell, even the theory of them being haunted is more realistic!" Lila hissed, comprehending the complexity of the situation at hand. 

"Just- listen, that could explain a whole damn lot don't you think? They have a script to follow, yes. That's the default mode these type of animatronics are supposed to obey which includes singing, cheering and promoting pizza. But what if somehow—..." Then he remembered what happened that day with Foxy, how it said it _saw_ how his parents used to have a bit of a trouble getting him out of the Pizzeria.

_His parents were a little overbearing, mostly his dad because of his police officer job and everything. His father was a very good man, very involved with everything related to his kids, so he took them to Freddy's every weekend to create good memories. He often recorded them playing around and eating pizza to treasure those moments. They have home videos out of it. Helena HAS THEM!_

Bingo! His helicopter of a dad must have recorded both him and his little sister interacting with the animatronics, and there's definitely proof of Mike's assumptions in those home videos for sure! All he needed to do now was comparing them with one of his surveillance videos from a couple of days ago to make Lila see them

"Earth to Space Mike, do you copy? Is everything OK in there?" Lila interrupted, waving a long hand in front of his face to make him react. 

"Lila," he said, taking her hand away from his face. "I have legit footage, both old and new that can and will prove my point, if... If you wanna get involved, that is. I won't pressure you to dig more into this crap, but I swear on my life you won't be thinking of me as a madman after you see them." 

"I'm in." She simply stated.

Mike blinked a couple of times in disbelief, letting go of her hand.   
"Are... Are you in? But what about finding a job? What about me thinking about impossible—" 

"Oh please, I'm done with big companies and office jobs. I can work repairing computers for all I care." She huffed. Still a touchy subject, apparently. "Besides, if your insane theories are correct, mixing a powerful CPU with a crappy animatronic carcass may be the main reason why they're not supporting their own system and do things like the ones you listed for me."

"That's a possibility, yeah..." Mike agreed half-hearted. He trusts Lila. She's a gal that prefers the challenge over the success so she won't do any messed up business. But he feared for her well-being; that's the real reason why he hadn't told anything to Helena about his problems at work. Even now he was worrying a little over Nathan's safety. Knowledge can be either your power and strength or your absolute doom. 

While they were saying their goodbyes and exchanging numbers in front of the Dinner, he began to question whether to tell her to erase their conversation from her head or simply ignore her once again. But being honest with himself it felt good to have someone that was full on the same boat with you to be a source of reassurance. He dedicated his youth to prepare for a moment like this and so did her. Might as well give it a shot now that he had a back up. 

"Lila, again, you don't have to do this. So if you wanna step out before it's too late, now would be a good time."

The woman moved her head to face him and pinned him down in place with her glare.   
"Look, what you're telling me sounds way more interesting than any experiment I've been involved in during the last years. If they were actually conscious while the kids were murdered, they could even be of some help to finally catch the real killer. So if you want my help, I'll give it to you. Just credit me when you become famous and talk about this world-changing software of yours." 

Seriously, why did he stop hanging out with cool people like her?   
"I really appreciate it, Lila." the night guard answered in awe. "Tell you what, I'll borrow the surveillance footage from this night and we can watch both that and my cringy childhood videos of the Pizzeria at home after my family goes out to their routines. Sounds good?"

"... Did you, smoothly and very slyly set me up on a date with you?" 

"I told you, I still got it." Mike winked and both laughed out loud. 

"I'll bring the popcorn then. Later, Mikester!" and just like that they took different paths. 

The night guard felt lighter, less overwhelmed with all this secrecy and stress as he watched his girl buddy go. Things were taking a completely different turn from what he was expecting but it was good nonetheless. Mike finally felt like he could do something productive and take some control of his life back. Maybe he would even consider taking Nathan's suggestion and apply as the restaurant's official technician. He still had things to fix that were beyond the robots, but figuring at least one thing out from his to-do list felt truly liberating. Those old footages could shed some light on this whole mess and actually serve as a guide of what to do next, so he really hopped they were still kept safe and sound. 

* * *

  
When Mike came home, he immediately went upstairs to retrieve the old videos from the attic. Man, opening that little trapdoor was like traveling through time. There were so many memories packed in boxes and bags he could almost hear their childish laughter when looking into the huge package full of their favorite toys. Unfortunately time was running short so there would be another moment in the future to travel through Nostalgia-land. Upon a little more inspection around the closed space he finally found the videos he was looking for behind his old man's broken jukebox. They were still in VHS format but thankfully that relic of a 'Camera-saur' was still working and could be plugged to the TV. There were more than 20 video cassettes from different years, but only 6 were labeled *FFP, M&H* with a Freddy Fazbear sticker on the side that his dad put in there as a request from five-year-old Mike himself. 

He came back down with the cassettes and the camera carefully tucked inside a small package with the intention of searching for any damages in the footage when he heard the front door opening and some keys being tossed on the kitchen counter. Helena. Maybe she forgot something? 

Mike slowly made his way towards the kitchen where his sister was, noticing she opened the fridge to take out a beer and some chicken wings to heat them up. He got closer and cleared his throat to let his presence be known, but all his sister did was to pass right next to him to take out the corn chips from the pantry behind him without even batting a lash at his direction. Ok, still mad after this morning then. She took the wings on a different plate and slided them inside the microwave, clearly trying to be as casual as possible. What was he gonna say to her now? 'Hey, so this morning I crossed paths with my friend after years of silence and had a massive epiphany about my life and emotional problems while talking to her, so now I feel like finally fixing things up. Forgive me, please?' This was not the first time he had lost his temper with his sister, therefore a simple ‘sorry' wasn't going to cut it for her this time, but he needed to start somewhere and an apology was all he got at the moment. 

"Why are you still up? It's already 1 pm, you'll feel sleepy tonight at work if you don't rest enough." 

"I just wanted to— I'm sorry about this morning, Helena.” He admitted in defeat, unable to find more poetic or sincere words to use. “And the times before that. I know you're trying to help... It's just really hard to think that days go by and I'm still not able to stand on my own. I feel so defeated it actually makes me furious towards myself, but no one else should be dealing with my problems… even less you."

Helena sighed with a heaviness that reminded him of their mother whenever his dad called to say he wouldn’t be able to make it for dinner— irritated and disappointed, feeling powerless to do anything about it.   
"You’re such a big idiot. You feel like you need to do this alone to prove a point." She said, turning back to look at him dead in the eye. "But you don’t need to. You were not alone when you learned how to walk, nor when you rode the bike for the first time, so you don't need to face the world alone either." She pointed out with a cracked voice, using the already falling tears to throw out all the ugly emotions Mike was so used to repress inside himself instead. 

He stopped for a second and thought about Kathy with her admiring stare, always seeing him like some sort of superhero every time he helped her with homework or played hide and seek in the backyard together. He thought about Nathan and his silliness, trying to make Mike laugh and value himself a little more because 'You're an amazing dude with so many party tricks its a crime you don't use 'em more often'. Lila also said she missed hanging out with him and was even going to support his crazy mission. He had never been alone, not really. Mike did have a reason to fight and move on from that one failure. But boy, all this philosophical introspection was about to give him another migraine if he kept on trying to settle everything down on the same day. 

So he smiled sweetly at the only person that has always been there for him since the very beginning instead, receiving a watery smile back. Carefully, he took the end of his sleeve to clean the tears off her rosy cheeks that were getting cold with the salty water. Her words were not coming from someone who never knew what it felt to be at the bottom of the trash can, nor from someone who had never needed help in her entire life. This was Helena gone-stronger-after-adversities Schmidt who was talking to him. 

"I’m still mad at you." Her sister complained, still sniffing a bit but clearly more open to conversation. Good gosh, she changed her moods faster than any other woman Mike had met before. It was terrifying in a certain way. 

"I know. Still working on that, I’m afraid." Mike said as he took a beer out for himself against his better judgment, mostly just to accompany her and share the meal time together while she stayed around. "So what brings you all the way back here? Nasty lunch at the cafeteria menu again?"

Both sat on the couch with their feet up like the bad-mannered people they were proud of being and turned the TV on to have some background noise. "Not really, I just needed to get out for a bit. The sickly sweet smell emanating from the mixing machine is finally making me hate ‘cherry flavored’ candies to no end.” Helena complained. “I also kind of hopped you would still be awake… but I didn’t know what was I going to do once I saw you, to be honest." She admitted, clearly feeling a tad awkward. Mike snickered. He could totally see her playing the ‘Pacifist’ route in every video-game, actually willing to die first before fomenting any kind of conflict (if it didn’t involve her daughter, that is). ”Also, Kathy’s teacher wants to make a school trip to the Museum and needs the parents’ authorization so I’ll take the car to pick her up this time. You should go get some rest if you wanna make it through the night.”

Oh, sweet Lord on heavens above, please have mercy of him for he’s a vile sinner that keeps his own sister in the dark with dirty lies so she doesn’t get to understand the real meaning behind those words. Maybe send a divine lightning of sorts? Let it be fast, don’t torture this miserable soul with more guilt. “I will, just gotta check a few things before going to sleep, don’t worry.” Mike said, inspecting the cassettes for any extra dust or damage in the plastic film of the tape. His mom really made a good job at keeping these from any kind of harm produced by the passing of the years. 

“Yeah sure, as if I didn’t hear that enough from my own daughter. Go to bed, Michael Schmidt.”

“Ugh, yes mom, I’m on it.”

“Don’t get smart with me, young man.” She said half serious. Curiosity made her tilt her head a little towards her brother’s lap to see what had him so trapped inside his own head when she identified the home videos. “Oh my God, those are dad’s videos!” she exclaimed with a childish excitement. 

Mike jumped a little bit before looking at her with certain confusion, needing a second to understand what happened.   
“Ah, yeah. I felt a little nostalgic so I wondered if they even worked anymore. Turns out mom’s obsession over packing everything in a tight and sealed container paid off incredibly.”

“Well duh! When you have kids you want to preserve every precious moment you get with them the best you can.” Helena explained as she took some of them to read the labels. Huh. Well that made sense if you thought about it. 

Both siblings stared to talk about what they could remember of those years, making small talk out of their childhood experiences to know a little more about each other. Helena never knew Mike used to leave his room in the middle of the night to hang out at a friend’s place to eat nachos and watch the horror movies their parents had forbidden at their own place, and Mike never knew Helena had a crush on that same friend of his’. What they both didn’t know until they both reached high school was that said kid had a crush on Mike. Both laughed and cringed with each different story, finally appreciating their overbearing parents and their obsession to keep those nice memories recorded for posterity. 

“Oh man, and what’s up with all these tapes? They’re all from the Freddy’s Pizzeria, Mike. I thought you were done with that place.”

“Well, yeah. But we used to spend so much time there that the majority of our videos features Freddy’s ugly mug. Ugh.”

“Hey! Freddy was the best of them all, not as creepy as the rest and had a nice voice. Besides, I know you made dad record Foxy’s performance every single time we went there because you were in love with that thing, so don’t go around pretending you were any different.”

Mike immediately chocked on air and turned completely red, denying completely the existence of that repressed memory. “I did not! I thought he was the coolest of the four, just that!”

“Oh come on, he was like your hero back then. Honestly, if the thing were a human you would’ve asked it to marry you. As I recall it, you actually managed to make dad feel jealous.”

“Shut up, I was starting to discover what type of people I liked to hang out with, and Foxy got pretty close to be my ideal friend even with his stupid pre-recorded lines.” he tried to refute. Helena giggled without any mischief, nesting a little further into the cozy couch. 

“I know, right? I used to run straight to Freddy to show him either my new dress or my new hairstyle, and he would always compliment me. ‘My my, you sure look pretty in that lilac dress, my dear’. I felt so happy. How stupid it seems now, doesn’t it? ”

“Hah, ye-“ 

… wait, what?

“And Freddy would talk to you about that color specifically? Did you even had a lilac dress?” Mike inquired as casual as he could under these circumstances. 

“He did. I know it must be a robotic thingy you are more familiar with, but it felt so sincere back then. Dad thought it was hilarious every time I chatted with Freddy so he recorded that exact moment. I guess it’s in this one.” Helena searched a few tapes until she pulled one out that was labeled *FFP, M&H -‘86*. 

OK, so it’s was official now: idiotic obliviousness was a genetic factor that ran in the family. How come his sister could talk about it like a fond memory instead of an unsettling feature for Freddy to be able to identify her dress color? In that specific hue?! And to top it all his DAD —a police officer— thought of it as a cute little thing to be recorded, for crying out loud! Now he wanted to check those VHS tapes so badly the struggle was real, but he promised Lila they would watch them together so he needed to control his impulses. 

“Ah, crap! I’m already late!” His sister exclaimed, ignoring the inner turmoil Mike has been experiencing during the past 5 seconds to dash to the bathroom and wash her teeth. He quickly snapped out of it though, and prepared a cooling bottle filled with the peach iced tea she liked, packing it along with the car keys next to her purse. She dashed back into the living room and took everything with her. 

“Thank you Mikey.” She said, giving him a forehead kiss like any mother would before going out again. “See you soon. Oh, and Mike?” She called from the door. “Go get some damn sleep already.”

The guard filled the tiny house with his booming laughter as Helena threw a flip flop at his direction, clearly exasperated with him. Might as well not test her boundaries right now. “Yes ma’am. Later!”

Once she got in the car and drove down the street, he took the phone and dialed the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria number while changing the old camera batteries.

“Hello and thank you for calling to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria! If you’re a customer who wants to buy some pizza, please press one. But if you’re Michael Schmidt, ergo the only loser who still calls to this supposedly Out of Business number, please wait in the line.”

“Nathan I swear to f-“ no, he wasn’t gonna loose his temper over one stupid joke. Breathe in, breathe out. “Where’s Carl? I need to talk to him ASAP.”

“Oh. I uh… I’ll tell him to pick up the phone, then.” Was it him or did Nathan sound sad?

“Michael! Nice to hear of you, I hope you had a good work shift!” The new voice on the other end of the line said, cheery and obviously fake. “Although it makes me glad to hear about you, shouldn’t you be resting by now? What is it so important that you’re calling?”

This buttface knew exactly how did Mike do in his shift last night, and was clearly prepared to hear something related to a job waiver. Well joke’s on him, because Schmidt was a stubborn bastard that wasn’t gonna let go of his new objective that easily. “Same as always, Mr. Davis. I called because I wanted to discuss the possibility of a new job position regarding the maintenance of the animatronics.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Lila watch the infamous tapes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks, I had a heavy writer's block with this story, but I'm back already so I would really appreciate your support. You know, a little motivation boost never hurt anybody ;)

He was prepared to open the door on the following day and let Lila come in, but...

"Took you long enough! Do you normally let your dates waiting at your door like a kicked puppy because lemme tell you, playing hard to get like this doesn't usually work."

... was that a Ninja Turtle beanie on top of her already green hair and a SpongeBob sweatshirt that looked like she could hide 1lb of drugs inside it because of how oversized the thing was on her?

"Well, I WAS expecting to maybe have a date coming over, but all I got was THIS --he gestured towards her entire frame-- instead, so that'll have to do." Seriously, did she walk all the way to his house with a pillow under her arm and dressed like that?

"Oh c'mon all the cool kids are doing it, Mr. Grown-up." "Yes, the generation Z kids that DO have the age to somehow pull off such ridiculous outfits." Lila stuck out her tongue and made her way in as she shoved her bag and belongings in his arms without much of a care. She twirled in the spot to take a quick look around the kitchen and the living room until she landed eyes on the promised tapes. She moved to the couch and set all the munchies and chips next to her.

"Nice house, Mikester! Helena has a really good taste."

"Why do you assume that I didn't decorate anything?" Lila turned around to raise an eyebrow at him along with what could be the most unamused stare he ever received. Okay, yeah, that was stupid. Mike rolled his eyes and simply took a Coke out of the fridge along with their cups to set everything on the coffee table in front of the TV. "I was going to make some tea and toast, but I kinda knew you would turn this into a party themed reunion."

Lila squealed in excitement when she opened the soda. "Aww Mikey, you know me so well." She cooed, batting her eyelashes obnoxiously at him.

"Oh yeah, enough to know you have a addiction problem with this thing." He said, taking the Coke from her grasp and setting it as far from her as the coffee table allowed it. He knew bringing gasified sugar to an already walking bomb of energy and horrible sense of fashion was a bad decision, given the history of the 'Mentos Explosion' reactions this chick had every time she got her hands on a single bottle. 

"But you still got it just for me, so you earned a reward." She smiled slyly, and Mike realized he was screwed when he felt the vibration of her contained giggles.

Crap.

He moved a millisecond too late, feeling the tip of a tongue licking his cheek before he literally threw himself backwards.

"LILA! You rotten 13-year-old-sized woman!" He yelled, cleaning his cheek on his shoulder while the woman couldn't stop hauling with laughter, almost falling off the couch.

"OHMAIGAHYOURFAHAHAHA!! AHAHAHAHA YOU'RE RIDICULOUS!!" She managed to say. Ugh, the sugar was starting to kick in just by sitting there untouched.

"That's it! You're the worst date ever! I'm calling dishonor upon your Guest Behavior skills!"

"HA! Said the guy who barely socializes. C'mon, man! Let's dig through your cringey home videos full of your baby years already. I'm in need of some juicy 80s themed mystery to fill my meaningless life with the sole purpose of avenging half a dozen of families with poetic justice by unraveling their death vessels' deepest codification numbers."

"I still don't know why aren't you performing your dramatic speeches at the theater. Here, we'll watch this one first." He said, finally taking the VHS ' _FFP, M &H -‘86'_ and inserting it in the super old player that he had to dust off and repair during his nightshift while catching up with the animatronics' movements-- the most nerve-wracking, stress inducing experience to this day.

"Helena told me yesterday that this video contained the exact moment Freddy broke some kind of fourth wall while interacting with her, so that's what we're mainly looking for. Of course, there must be other strange things as well so we'll have to pay close attention throughout the entire video."

"What did he do?" Lila questioned, setting her pillow on her lower back for more comfort.

"It's better if you just see it for yourself, but it's related to the identification of her dress color."

There was a moment of interference after Mike hit play, but soon enough a poorly recorded image appeared in the screen. Lila fell silent, paying extra attention to the screen as she extended her glass towards him. He filled it up with the infamous dark liquid while the band's signature song was playing in the background. Mike thought his friend would take the chance to make a lot of remarks about his child self, mocking his genuine emotion every time the animatronics were performing, but she was serious about this, and was focusing on every little detail for real.

He felt truly supported.

Pulling his feet up, he buried them under her crossed legs and allowed her to pet him like she would a cat before paying attention to the video.

_The band was playing while the children were cheering. Mike's dad was recording both him and his sister singing along the silly tune from their seats, cheeks covered in pizza sauce and grease but a smile was plastered on both of their faces anyway. The animatronics looked less intimidating by that time, maybe due to their more decent maintenance sessions at the moment but it still looked like they were made to BE scary._

Mike supposed it was because of their already damaged reputation after the incident, and kept looking around the recorded background for any uncommon behavior.

_A little girl was pulling her father's pants towards the stage as if begging him to let her reach the metallic animals. Other kids were playing tag around the dinning area, and one of them was too slow and was always running a few feet behind them._ _This kept going for a while until the song ended, and the animatronics got down of the stage to play with the kids a little bit. Mike looked around. No Foxy in the proximity._

_"C'mon, guys! Don't you want to say hello to Freddy?" His dad asked behind the camera._

_"Yaaaaay!" Both siblings cheered._

_"Ah ah ah, but first you have to clean your face if you want to meet him."_

_"B-But mom! All the other kids are going to get there first!" Mike whined._

_"I'm sure you don't want to have a 'pizza face' that could scare your friend away, right Mikey?" Their mom argued. They both moved their heads and waited patiently until she cleaned them both before running towards Freddy._ _His mom always handled them like a pro._

_His dad's amused snickering could be heard among the screams of excitement and laughter inside the place. He got up with the camera and took a few steps closer towards the metallic bear but still kept a certain distance as to not disturb his children's spontaneity._

_Helena was so elated she barely managed to get closer when she started calling: "Freddy! Freddy!" a call that didn't go unnoticed by the giant thing. He turned around and searched the source of the tiny voice calling his name._

**[Identified his own name and responded to it.]**

"A pretty clever algorithm for an animatronic to have if we ignore the fact that this happened in the 80s." Lila commented.

Mike hummed. They still needed more proof.

_Freddy finally spotted her tiny shape among the sea of kids and got down on one knee to have a better look at her; not once was he thrown out of balance because of his own weight, nor did he use a series of short and rigid little movements to perform the action, but got it all in a single fluid one._

There was that organic movement again.

"Oh look!" Lila interrupted, pointing at Bonnie barely visible in the background. She rewinded the VHS and pointed at the rabbit playing normally with the children surrounding him before someone (apparently a man, but it was hard to tell with all the bad quality pixels fogging everything) grew near the small bunch.

It looked like someone had flipped a switch. The giant rabbit changed his body language completely (if you could call that a 'body language'), giving two steps in front of the group and staying completely still.

"What the hell is...?" Mike breathed out. It was impossible to hear if Bonnie was talking or not due to the screams and songs, and the camera wasn't really focusing on him so sometimes he would desappear outside of the frame. But the security guard didn't need a high definition of the event to know what was going on.

_Bonnie stared. He simply stared at the person, not moving a finger even when the kids were clearly calling him, demanding him to come back to play. That eerie, empty glare he was so used to see through other cameras felt all too familiar._

So this was a common occurrence even before everything went to hell? How come not a single adult gave a flying duck about this display?

"That's weird. Look at all those kids calling for Bonnie, trying to get the thing to play with them again. As far as I know these robots seem to have an algorithm that enables them to answer a tiny voice's call, yet he's not reacting to any of it. Maybe Bonnie's bro-... no, that's... not a malfunction. Right?" Lila questioned, a little nervous about what Mike's answer would be.

He shook his head slowly, quickly elaborating an audible sentence since both of them were still staring at the screen. "That's a decision. That thing * _decided_ * not to pay attention to their calls. Something else suddenly became this robot's priority."

"Brilliant!" The woman exclaimed.

"I think 'disturbing' is the word you're searching for."

Lila paused the video and took two big gulps from her cup.  
"Stop looking at the robots as your natural predators or something and look at them for what they are, Mike. This is completely unprecedented in the AI field, absolutely revolutionary!" She exclaimed with giddiness. Was he the only person in this entire universe who could see how dangerous those features could really be? This is why the doctors in those sci-fi movies always manage to mess up and accidentally create an army of human-killing machines or stuff like that: Pure and unadulterated thirst of pushing things to the very extreme in the name of 'improving humanity'.

"That's exactly what goes on at night-time in that place." Mike decided to say instead, pointing at the animatronic still immovable, still staring with that dead stare.

"But on the other hand, Bonnie doesn't seem to mind the other adults, just this one in particular." Lila pointed.

That's true. He saw other adults in the video saying hi to the animatronics (mostly obligated by their own kids) and they would greet back normally. So, this behavior was deliberately chosen by the robot to be used with just that one person in particular... But why?

Before he could start thinking too much about it tho, his thoughts were cut short when his dad focused the camera on Helena entirely and he couldn't see Bonnie anymore. Dammit.

_"Oh, and who's this little princess?" Freddy asked._

**[He identified the gender: young female]**

_"Freddy, look at my dress! Mommy made it just for me!"_

_The afable bear scanned her from head to toe and chuckled slightly. "Mhm, I can see that. It's very pretty! Lilac is such a pretty color, made for such a pretty princess too!"_

**[He identified the color hue: Lilac.]**

_"Y-you really think so?!" Helena asked, seemingly about to explode out of happiness while twirling around on her then little feet._

_"Yes indeedy! Why, hasn't your brother told you anything about how cute you look?"_

**Identified--... _what?_**

_"Mikey is a dumb boy, all he cares about is Foxy!" Helena complained. The bear hummed and turned his gaze towards the Pirate Cove where a lonely Mike was trying desperately to coax someone or-- something, out of there._

_Fazbear knew Mike and Helena were related._

_"Oh I don't think he is. He's Foxy's First Mate after all! And that's not very common to achieve."_

It wasn't?

_"Foxy is too scary, I don't like him very much. " the little girl lamented._

_And to everybody's shock, the robot bear laughed at the sincere remark._  
_"Foxy? Oh no no, he may LOOK scary, but no one likes to play and sing with kids more than our old pirate friend. If you give him a chance, I'm sure both you and Mike will have a grand time with him, sweet Helena."_

"... was that--" Lila couldn't even finish her sentence. Mike simply paused the video and stared dumbfounded at the frozen frame of Freddy pointing at him.

Bold. This was a deliberately bold move.

Not only were they able to recognize their own names and respond to calls. They could also identify hues of colors in a little girl's dress, learn the kid's names and use correct pronouns instead of using default phrases. They learned things and tied loose ends through mere observation and hearing, maybe that was how they managed to replicate a human's fluid movements.

"Lila... I think... we should stop questioning whether or not they're able to do weird things..."

"... And start investigating exactly WHAT kind of weird things are they really capable of." The woman next to him concluded. "Are they... conscious?"

"... I can't really answer that, but they do seem like they were genuinely entertaining the kids using the communication skills they learned outside of their default mode. They even seem to have... personalities, and know a lot about each other."

"Cheese on a cracker, Michael!" The woman screamed at him. "This is insane! I mean, not only do they have a super brain, but they somehow are able to control crappy 80's machinery to move very uncannily for being so-- so fluid! But why, why are these masterpieces being used in a Pizzeria entertaining screaming kids instead of being tested somewhere more professional?"

Mike had an answer for that. He did, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. Apparently he didn't have to, because the expression on his face probably had spilled the beans. Lila stared at him carefully. One second. Two. Then she was glooming more and more. Whether his theory was correct or not, it made absolute sense to think about it.

"Someone wanted to either protect or harm those kids."

"But who?!"

"I don't know that, dammit!" Mike groaned, these migraines were going to kill him one day if he didn't control the amount of stress he had to put up with daily. "All I can conclude is that their creator is either imprisoned or dead, because NO ONE would leave such an important piece of technology abandoned in a place like this unless they were caught or didn't get to conclude their original idea."

Lila agreed silently. A heavy aura took all over the living room and the temperature dropped considerably. Both of them decided not to get into that topic yet and kept on watching the rest of the videotape only half-hearted. The kids were still screaming with excitement, the animatronics kept entertaining them during the rest of the video and little Mikey kept talking seemingly alone on one corner of the Pirate Cove Stage, but nothing felt the same.

Their enthusiasm for finding any clues were slowly falling out of grace, pushed aside by a discouraging feeling-- by a primal fear. No. He had to do something.

"I think we should watch another tape, if you're OK with it."

"Sure, the more we can gather the better. Which one will it be?" His friend asked, lifting two different VHS on each hand. Mike examined the names written on them at took the _'FFP, M &H - 87'_ from her right hand. Maybe his memories were biased as a product of a very perturbed man's mind, but if these were to be true, it would be the most bizarre encounter he ever had with these things.

He took out the current video tape and replaced it, going back to the couch with goosebumps covering his skin and a shiver running down his legs and spine. Lila could tell he was dreading something, and he could tell she knew. But neither of them spoke about it and grabbed the Dorito's bowl instead, placing it between them as the image appeared on the screen.

_The recording camera was on the table before his dad picked it up, ushered by his mom to get closer to where Mike and Foxy were. He remembers what happened that day, but he didn't even notice his dad was actually r_ _ecording him at the moment._

His parents' voices were hushing and filling the background noise of the recording while trying to get closer to them in a very stalkish way, given the awkward angle of the camera. They really were the helicopter type, and just maybe, Mike would be grateful this one time that they were.

_"Why is our baby boy crying? Did you see something happening, Henry?"_

_"Shh, he'll lose his spontaneity if he sees us." His father answered with a smile on his voice. "We'll take care of it later. Ugh, that fox sometimes manages to piss me off."_

_"Oh Honey, always so jealous. What will happen when Helena gets her first boyfriend?"_

_"She won't, I'll make sure of it." The man said very seriously._

Mike heard a snicker next to him and huffed annoyed.  
"Aww, your parents love you so much, Mikey boy."

"Loved. Now shut up and pay attention. I remember what happened that day with Foxy near his Pirate Cove."

_On the screen, a crying little Mike was sitting on the floor, talking to Foxy about how he got bullied because of his separate front teeth, which were a huge problem for his self-esteem at that age. Foxy was in front of him, it's hand supporting its weight on the ground as he was leaning forward on one of his knees in an attempt to lower himself a bit more to be at Mike's level. He seemed to be so attentive, hearing him out like a parent would with their own child._

Watching everything from a third person's point of view now made him almost admit it was a rather endearing scene.

_"They s-say I'm weird, because I like to b-build things instead of playing soccer, and my teeth are u-ugly too."_

_"That ain't true, Mikey." The pirate answered sincerely. Mike didn't remember Foxy sounding so... sweet. "Yer not weird ta me."_

_"H-how do you know my name?"_

"Ha, always a bright kid, eh?" Lila pointed amused.

_"That's because yer me first matey!" Foxy winked with a mischievous tone behind the gesture, as if being his First Mate was the most awesome secret of them all. Maybe it was?_

Foxy talked a lot through his body, Mike noticed. It was something the other animatronics didn't really do. It looked as if they were more conscious of hiding their true selves than Foxy, who apparently didn't care ( _care?_ ) about keeping appearances. Could it maybe be the reason why Foxy had less time outside of his curtains? Because he was too careless to be seen? A free spirit with a loud mouth. Friendly and mostly silly but was a good hearted being at fault. He somehow used to feel so safe around that scrape of metal, so free to be his crybaby self. Kids shouldn't be aware of how cruel the world could be, not yet.

Not yet.

_"Yer a bright kid, always up to new adventures, and that's why ye shouldn't let anyone take away that sparkle o'yers." R_ _ight at that moment, Foxy petted his head lovingly, using tender little movements as if trying not to scare his First Matey._

Mike felt sick thinking he even allowed a stranger-- a thing, get this close and personal with him. But there was no malice in those gestures, no ulterior motives behind his apparent (could it be called 'apparent' when so much sentiment could be seen in the moment?) concern.

Like if Foxy really cared about a kid.

_After the fox managed to make baby Mike smile with full force (showing his teeth and all) both stood up and Foxy escorted him back to the main hall, half marching in a silly manner and talking very loud as if to make his presence known with that thick Irish accent of his'._

"Hah, he's like Charlie! Remember, that Irish kid we had to work with for the final project that grew so close to you? Wait, is it bad that I'm stereotyping a robot? It doesn't help that he was built with a pirate theme in mind."

"It seems stereotyped, yeah, but what if it's just the way he is?"

"Ugh, get to the point Mike."

He paused the video and turned to look at her. He came to realize he liked a certain type of people thanks to Foxy. Determined and friendly ones, full of positivism and not afraid to be themselves in front of others, even borderline dumbasses. Proof of it is that he befriended people like Lila and Nathan (oh God, he could even be a morosexual. Oh God NO). Robots weren't built to leave that kind of impact, not with all those details and quirks that normally only sentient beings could develop.

"The point IS, maybe they weren't crafted to fill a character, but the character was built around them?"

"Pfffft c'mon man, you telling me they were already a conscious AI of sorts before they even had a body to--" Lila stopped dead on her mockery and thought about it for a second. Then she started pacing back and forth through the living room trying to tie the facts and the suppositions together. Turns out it made much more sense. "OK, that could be kinda plausible, but we can't really say anything else, not until we get to see those things upclose." She declared firmly, grabbing the pillow and the Coke bottle as she was marching towards the door.

"Waitwaitwait, you wanna go NOW?!" Mike shouted, accidentally playing the tape.

"Why not? You're friends with the other guard, so you can convince him to let me in and temper a little bit with those things."

It would be fast. Like ripping a band aid. He honestly couldn't be in a worse situation that he was in now, and of she was gonna help him she would eventually have to get close to the robots anyways.

"God help me." Mike implored in a strangled whisper. "Ok, you win. The bathroom is on the left side of the hallway, you can use the spare toothbrush inside the cabinet."

"Now we're talking!" The silly woman screamed in excitement and fled to the given direction. Mike sighed deeply and sank further into the couch, trying to process what they wew about to do when he noticed the tape had been running for a while now.

_"Ye know, I always sing me a song that cheers me up on gloomy days," the fox said cheerfully. "and maybe it can help ye too, laddie."_

_Little Mike gasped. "Will you teach it to me?!"_

_"Hmmm..." Foxy pondered. "Very well, since yer me first matey. But you must promise you won't tell a soul."_

_"I promise!" Little Mike said with the most serious face he was capable of making._

_After saluting one another as if sealing the pact, the fox cleared his throat and started humming at first. Mike thought he was gonna sing one of those stupid Fazbear Pizzeria songs, but what he heard next was absolutely surprising as well as stunning. Foxy's voice was so serene and natural, and the melody was pretty much like--, no, it absolutely was._

Jackpot.

He jumped out of the couch with a renewed strength and dashed to his room to pick up a few things before heading back to the restaurant.

It didn't take long before both of them were ready to head outside of the house. It was a gut feeling, but Mike decided that wearing his old Loony Toons red shirt to match his white sneakers, bluejeans and a red and white bomber jacket that he found among his dad's belongings would make a very good first impression after all those years, something familiar and easier to identify since the animatronics currently residing in the Pizzeria seemed to be locked, modified in some way to stop them from showing any sort of odd behavior that called attention upon themselves. But could it be that a picture from the past could help unlock something?

"Whoa whoa, hold on. The 80s called, Mike. They want their fashion trend back." Lila joked when she returned from the bathroom and saw him dressed like that.

"Don't be a pain and let's go," the guard instructed exasperated. "The earlier we get there the better."

Once they were on the road neither of them could sit still on their seats, the excitement filling the air was just too much to handle inside the car. Excitement mixed with fear and an uncomfortable sensation that ran through your legs in a fight-or-flight response, but it was fair and square to feel that way given the place they were going to visit next.

"So, are you gonna tell me why are you suddenly so eager to get there? Weren't these things like, trying to kill you or something?"

"Not during the day, or Nathan wouldn't survive more than 30 minutes." He laughed. "I talked to my boss about the position as a technician yesterday, and he said I would be in a provisional position until I prove I can fix at least one of them. The tapes gave me an idea, but I will need you there in case something goes wrong."

"You are a madman, Michael Schmidt." His friend laughed, shaking her head with fond exasperation. "So, who will I play as today?"

"You'll get to play the roll of my recommendation letter, as well as my advisor."

"Cool, I'll make sure to think of some embarrassing Uni stories to tell your boss about." She smirked.

"No, Lila. You stay far away from that man unless strictly necessary. He's very suspicious and most likely knows more about the animatronics than anybody else at the moment. Someone like him would want to make sure no one ever gets near those things."

"Then how did you coax him to give you the position?"

"I had to make a deal with the Devil." Mike huffed, gripping the wheel tighter as they pulled up at the parking lot.

Lila checked the place and scrunched her nose. It really was in a decaying shape, huh? Yeah, not proud of his working place. But it was 9:00 A. M already and he wanted to try this experiment without his boss lurking around.

So there was no time to lose.


End file.
